[Wayner]

I have had this product for about 6 months now, and there are no ill-side effects from it, and it offers some protection for AVA and other equipment owners. It's a product by Tripp-lite called the Isobar Ultra surge protector. You can get the 4-plex for under $50 and the 6 plex for under $60 and I think it's a good value for the money.

I have used it, but they also used it at my previous place of employ (Hutchinson Technologies, Inc (HTI)), used in all of the automated manufacturing modules, to protect vary valuable PLCs, power supplies and meters. Nothing fancy, just plain old surge supression using MOVs with a latching voltage at 140 and also offers RFI/EMI filtering (at 40-80db) for a bit of treatment. I got the specifications from Tripp-lite.

Things that this unit can't do is take out lightening strikes, but will stop damaging transient voltage spikes and clean up a bit of hash noise to boot. I think it offers a value above the usual power strip as it also offers circuit isolation from components that are plugged into the same unit.

 

If anyone is interested in this.

Wayner 

[rockadanny]

Since this forum is usually scientific-based, I'd like to ask a few questions related to MOV surge protectors such as this one ...

I've read elsewhere (on a non-MOV product site) that MOVs wear out after so many spikes and there is no way to tell if yours has worn out. Anyone know if this is true?

Also, that MOVs can cause fires. Anyone know if this is true?

Frank, your opinion?

[srb]

I've read elsewhere (on a non-MOV product site) that MOVs wear out after so many spikes and there is no way to tell if yours has worn out. Anyone know if this is true?

Also, that MOVs can cause fires. Anyone know if this is true?

It is possible that a even a single lightning induced surge of enough energy could make an MOV non-fuctional.  I don't know how well it works, but one of the diagnostic LEDs on this particular Tripp-Lite model is "Protection Present", and is supposed to indicate if any of the surge spression components are not working.
 
Wikipedia says that NFPA has issued bulletins on fire hazzards of MOV's, but I couldn't locate said bulletin at nfpa.org.
 
"The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has documented many cases of catastrophic fires that have been caused by MOV devices in surge suppressors, and has issued bulletins on the issue."
 
Steve

[Wayner]

I have attended several NFPA 79e classes myself, and there was no discussion on this topic. As with any electrical device that is in front of any failure, monitoring is always important.

Wayner

[NagysAudio]

http://www.zerosurge.com/

[Tom Alverson]

Since this forum is usually scientific-based, I'd like to ask a few questions related to MOV surge protectors such as this one ...

I've read elsewhere (on a non-MOV product site) that MOVs wear out after so many spikes and there is no way to tell if yours has worn out. Anyone know if this is true?

MOV's have do a finite number of surges they can absorb.  You can tell if they have failed with some expensive equipment (like a curve tracer).  They could burn up, but inside that nice enclosure there is no risk of setting anything else on fire.

Tom

[Brett Buck]

It is possible that a even a single lightning induced surge of enough energy could make an MOV non-fuctional.  I don't know how well it works, but one of the diagnostic LEDs on this particular Tripp-Lite model is "Protection Present", and is supposed to indicate if any of the surge spression components are not working.
 
Wikipedia says that NFPA has issued bulletins on fire hazzards of MOV's, but I couldn't locate said bulletin at nfpa.org.
 
"The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has documented many cases of catastrophic fires that have been caused by MOV devices in surge suppressors, and has issued bulletins on the issue."

      I would guess that the chances of the surge protector causing a fire in a lightning strike is a lot lower than the lightning strike itself starting a fire.

    Brett

[rockadanny]

I believe when they talk about surges wearing out the MOVS, they are not speaking strictly about lightening, but every day sort of possible surges. So not catastrophic surges, but surges otherwise not necessarily noticable.

[turkey]

I have had this product for about 6 months now, and there are no ill-side effects from it, and it offers some protection for AVA and other equipment owners. It's a product by Tripp-lite called the Isobar Ultra surge protector. You can get the 4-plex for under $50 and the 6 plex for under $60 and I think it's a good value for the money.

I've been using these for 15+ years for computer equipment. They seem to perform very well. They're a good quality product and they're rationally priced.

[turkey]

I believe when they talk about surges wearing out the MOVS, they are not speaking strictly about lightening, but every day sort of possible surges. So not catastrophic surges, but surges otherwise not necessarily noticable.

AFAIK, this is true. All surges will damage an MOV to a greater or lesser extent. They're a consumable part, and when they fail you just replace them.

[Doublej]

I am confused. Don't I want something that will protect my equipment from a lightning strike?

While I am posting what's the meaning of the phrase, "Diagnostic Surge Suppressor"? What's the difference between it and a regular surge suppressor?

[turkey]

I am confused. Don't I want something that will protect my equipment from a lightning strike?

While I am posting what's the meaning of the phrase, "Diagnostic Surge Suppressor"? What's the difference between it and a regular surge suppressor?

See those 3 LEDs on the front? They not only tell you if the supression is still working, but they also will warn you if your wall receptacle is miswired or something else is faulty.

I had one of these in place and after a couple of years I suddenly got a fault light. I then used a tester like this:





It gave me more info and I found that the ground was bad on this receptacle. I pulled it out of the wall and found that the ground lead was loose. (It was in an old building.) I tightened it back up and it was fine.

Most of the time you won't need the diagnostic part, but it comes in handy sometimes.

[turkey]

Yes, you do want something that will protect your equipment from a lightning strike. However, it can also protect from the more common surges that happen all the time, like when big electric motors turn on and off. Then there are larger surges that are infrequent and enough to damage your stereo, but not as large as a lightning strike.

[Speedskater]

"turkey" that wiring tester can not test a surge suppressor condition. It can only test the 5 conditions on the label. Also it can not test for a Safety Ground and Neutral wire swap.
In surge suppressor, unless an MOV shorts it's hard to test the unit's functionality.

[Doublej]

Yes, you do want something that will protect your equipment from a lightning strike. However, it can also protect from the more common surges that happen all the time, like when big electric motors turn on and off. Then there are larger surges that are infrequent and enough to damage your stereo, but not as large as a lightning strike.

Got it. If my equipment gets fried from a lightning strike will Tripp-Lite pay to replace it like others brands will?

[ctviggen]

Got it. If my equipment gets fried from a lightning strike will Tripp-Lite pay to replace it like others brands will?

Do any of them really pay?  Personally, I added a whole-house surge protector, although I use additional surge protection at each important device. 

[turkey]

"turkey" that wiring tester can not test a surge suppressor condition. It can only test the 5 conditions on the label. Also it can not test for a Safety Ground and Neutral wire swap.
In surge suppressor, unless an MOV shorts it's hard to test the unit's functionality.

I wasn't asking it to test a surge suppressor function. The Tripplite unit indicated a fault and I attempted to find out more about it. The tester I used showed a faulty ground.

When I tightened the ground lead on the wall receptacle, both the tester and Triplite unit showed the fault was gone.



Maybe there was some confusion? When I said "see the 3 LEDs on the front," I meant on the front of the Triplite power strip.

[turkey]

Got it. If my equipment gets fried from a lightning strike will Tripp-Lite pay to replace it like others brands will?

As much as any of the brands will. They just build the cost of the insurance policy into the price of the product. There are some catches, so you have to read the fine print, but that's true of any insurance policy or warranty.

[charmerci]

When I hear thunder, I just unplug my stereo. No surge suppressor will protect the equipment from several thousand amps surging through your electrical system.

[newzooreview]

When I hear thunder, I just unplug my stereo. No surge suppressor will protect the equipment from several thousand amps surging through your electrical system.

Yeah, you're right. It makes much more sense to stay in the house 24/7 so you can unplug equipment when you hear thunder than it does to purchase a well made surge protector.